


Can you feel it, Can you fill it?

by YouthRhapsody



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Body Dysmorphic Disorder, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Panic Attacks, Threesome - M/M/M, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:14:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24806041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouthRhapsody/pseuds/YouthRhapsody
Summary: My very belated piece for promare big burn 2020!Lio can feel a prism shaped hole in his chest that the promare left in him. He tries to fill it in every way he knows how, looking for meaning in his new life.
Relationships: Gueira/Meis (Promare), Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos, Lio Fotia/Gueira/Meis
Comments: 12
Kudos: 101





	Can you feel it, Can you fill it?

**Author's Note:**

> Woops. Someone forgot to post her big burn piece, I have been forgetful through this entire process ugh. But here it is! About 20k of Lio hurt/comfort/whump/smut! 
> 
> This fic will get a bit dark, describing mental health issues and episodes induced by trauma. If those bother you, please turn back now.
> 
> And thank you to @liofotiasearring on instagram for being my partner and a lovely artist! Sorry it took me so daggone long, you are the MVP. with that, enjoy!

Life had never really been routine for Lio Fotia. Each day brought with it some new challenge to overcome, and each night a different place to lay his head. He'd battled governments and wild creatures and nature itself in a never ending loop of youth, and rested his head on stones, down, and a few chests along the way. But now, his alarm goes off, as it had exactly twenty four hours ago. His eyes open, as they had each morning this week, and his feet hit the floor, the carpet feeling just the same as it had a month prior. 

He steps out of his bed, in his room that remained stagnant except for the ever-shifting resting place of his keys. The bathroom door is the same as it always had been, and he can find his toothbrush with both eyes closed. And, in the mirror, he looks to find... Someone. This is not the same as it always had been. What had been the only constant in his past life, his own reflection, now looks back in a way that is somehow  _ different. _

His hair is the same cool blonde that it had been since his birth, and his eyes the familiar violet that he had always known. All of his teeth are in their proper places, sitting under the same familiar nose.

But, in the center of his shirtless chest, there is something missing. A hole in the shape of a prism, glaringly obvious. It had been full, before. When the fire- the promare as he now knew them- had lived in him. They had filled this hole full to the point of bursting, lighting his body into a black inferno whenever it became so terribly stuffed that it had no other place to go. It had spoken to him, loved him, and he had loved them in return. They needed each other to survive, to be happy. 

But the promare are gone. And he is empty. And so he looks in the mirror, teeth foamed over with his brushing, and he can't help but think- 'Who am I, without them?' 

And the scary thing is- he doesn't know. 

...

“Congrats you guys!” 

A box is opened with a flourish, revealing a sugary-sweet cake within. Emblazoned with bright red and yellow frosting, it is either the handiwork of a professional baker. That, or someone within their squad had a talent that they kept under wraps.

Lio blinks as his pair of familiars, Gueira and Meis, lean forward to oooh and aaah at the confection. Meanwhile- he looks about at the huddle of his fellow teammates with a confused stare. “What is this for?” He asks. 

“It’s been a year since you three joined the team. We thought that we should do something to celebrate.” Aina explains to him. Meanwhile, Lucia swings around in her chair, usual smirk written across her features.

“It’s not all the time that we get three newbies on the same day.” She chimes in. 

Ignis gives a firm nod. “You three have worked hard to rebuild after everything that happened a year ago. You deserve something for your effort. You deserve a cake, at least.” 

Lio feels a thick smack on the back of his neck, and he is pulled towards a body behind him. “And of course, it was my idea!” Galo yanks him close, rattling Lio’s small body around in his typical fashion. “Only a man with great power could turn a group of terrorist leaders into humble firemen overnight!” He boasts. 

Lio feels himself released from Galo’s hold as the other man is elbowed in the ribs. “You didn’t turn us into shit!” Gueira barks at him. 

“We followed the boss. Where he goes, we’ll be going along with him.” Meis chimes in. 

Galo grumbles, dramatically clutching his side. “Alright alright, well I turned one of you into a humble firefighter!” 

Lio manages a half-smile. “Humble? I doubt it. But, you did rope me into the job.”

“Well-” Galo fishes a plastic cake knife from his pocket. “We’re all better off for it, no matter your motivation for being here!”

Guiera plucks the knife from Galo’s hands, licking his lips. “I’ll be taking that!” He chimes, dipping back behind Lio to slice at the cake.

The blonde shakes his head, and returns to look back at Galo. With a slight grin, he bumps the other man’s chest with his fist. “Thank you, Galo.” He says. More than for the cake, he should thank Galo for a whole list of things. Helping him when nobody else could to liberate the burnish, for viciously fighting off the powers at be who would have had him arrested, and for opening the door that welcomed him into the rag-tag family that was Burning Rescue. 

Maybe he gets it, maybe he doesn’t, but Galo goes butt his chest with his knuckles right back. “‘S no problem! We’re all better off with you here!” 

“Someone’s gotta keep Galo on a leash.” Varys chimes in, taking a piece of cake from Gueira as he and Meis pass it around. 

“Mmgh- Don’t make me come up there!” Galo playfully waves his fist. Lio manages to laugh, but pauses as a slice of cake is thrust into his hands. It comes on a paper plate paired with a white plastic fork.

“Go on, eat up!” Gueira urges him. 

Despite his general distaste for sweets, Lio takes a polite morsel from the treat. It’s overly sugary and has a bit of an off taste from the red frosting. The whole in his chest that he covers with his shirt feels a little smaller than before. But, it is still there, and he can feel little chewed-up bits of sugar falling through it and dropping into his belly with a splash. At least that part of him can become full, to the point of stuffing. 

He eats like a bird, in small bites, watching the cardboard underside of the cake box reveal itself. It’s stained with oil and red, lying empty as the others devour it. He gulps, and feels ill. Too much sugar. 

Galo sits beside him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder as the others chatter among themselves. He flashes Lio a trademark grin, and rubs the top of his head. “That’s a long face!” He remarks. “I know the past year’s been tough, but you made it, Lio. Cheer up.” He pushes the smaller man’s face into a smile, and Lio shakes his head. “Really, Lio. I’m a lot happier with you around.”

The blonde tries to push back his flushed cheeks. He shakes his head. “Psh, I’m fine.” He insists. “But if it means anything, I’m happy to be here.” He states, genuinely. 

“You guys are too much.” Lucia snirks. 

“Yeah, get a room!” Gueira chimes back in. 

Galo retaliates by kicking the redhead in in the ass. “Don’t tell me that, you wouldn’t stop making goo-goo eyes at your boyfriend long enough to notice if a car were on fire right next to you!” 

“I’m his fiance.” Meis interjects. “And if you care about the boss, you should put a ring on him too. He’ll get away, Mr. Firefighter.” He snickers. 

“We’re only friends.” Lio insists. 

“Yeah, what’s a little skinship between buddies?” Galo squishes the smaller man up to him once again. “The bond between me n’ Lio cannot simply be defined by friendship or love alone! It’s cooler than that!” He gives the blonde a noogie. 

“If you say so.” Remi chimes in from behind his coffee, rolling his eyes from behind his glasses. 

Lio grumbles, but feels a little more full.

...

Sigh. 

“...Hey, are you alright?” 

“Yeah, you haven’t really been acting yourself.” 

Lio rolls his eyes upward from where the bottom of his chin is firmly planted atop the table of his once-generals, now-friends. “I’m alright.” He mutters. As if on cue, the other two glance at one another. This is never a good sign.

“Tell me what’s the matter.” Meis leans in closer to him, single eye drawn to a sliver of its usual half-lidded self. 

“You can tell me, boss.” Gueira flips something over in a frying pan. 

“...Why do I have the feeling that you two didn’t invite me over to treat me to lunch?” Lio grumbles. 

“Oh, we did!” The headhead looks over his shoulder. “But there’s no such thing as a free lunch!” 

“It’s an intervention.” Meis states flat-out. 

“I don’t need intervening.” Lio grunts. “I understand that you two mean well, but I can deal with my own problems.” 

“Yeah, but are you GOING to deal with those problems?” Gueira drawls. 

Lio huffs, and balls his fists in his lap. 

“...Don’t you guys miss it?” 

“Miss what?” Meis perks an ear, and Gueira turns off the stove’s gas.

“Your flames.” 

“Of course!” Gueira immediately responds. 

“Yes, constantly.” Meis adds. 

Lio cocks his head to the side, brows drawing themselves up until his forehead creases with worry. “How do you do it, then? You both have just gone on to live your lives normally. If I didn’t know better, I never would have been able to tell that you were burnish to begin with.”

“I wouldn’t call our lives normal.” Meis replies. “Living without my fire after not having it for so long... It’s not easy. For anyone, no matter how long they had their powers.” 

Gueira gives a solemn nod, reaching up into the cabinets. “Yeah, what he said. It took me months to be able to sleep at night again, I couldn’t fall asleep without hearing it talking to me.”

“But you did sleep again, yes?” Lio questions.

“Sure did! I’ve slept great for the last two months!” The redhead chimes back. 

“How? What did you do?” Lio questions. “I just...” He clutches at the hole in his chest. “I feel so empty. Without my fire there anymore, without the promare to speak to me and to keep me going, I don’t know what to do.” He feels a knot in his stomach. 

“If there’s a hole somewhere, patch it up!” Gueira sets a plate in front of him. “Pepper steak stir fry. You make sure to eat it!” 

“Thanks.” Lio nods. “I don’t understand, though. How am I meant to patch it?”

“You should find something that gives you the same feeling that the fire did.” Meis responds, all the while licking his lips. “Gueira took up cooking a few months back, and he’s become very passionate about it.” He takes a bite of the meat, the fruit of said passion evident on his features. “As for me, I’ve been going to church again. I used to go every sunday when I was a kid, but once I had to skip town after my powers awakened, I stopped. God gives me a similar feeling to the fire.” 

“Something that gives me a feeling similar to the fire...” Lio takes a thoughtful bite. Too much soy sauce, but this was a marked improvement on Gueira’s old specialty- burnt toast. “I don’t know if there is anything in this world that can do what the promare did for me.”

He sets his fork down. The other two look up to him, pausing. 

Lio lets tears fall down his cheeks. The hole echoes the sound of his beating heart, and he fears it will fall it out as the void just grows bigger. “I’m always going to be empty, without it.” He admits. 

Suddenly his face ends up squished against a chest, and long hair falls over his face. “That’s not true, boss.” Meis assures him, squeezing him tight up to his bony shape. “You’ll get through it.”

A softer form squeezes him from the other side. “Yeah! You’ll find something and it’ll get better. We’ll even help you look!” Gueira tousles his hair. “Don’t cry, you’re gonna be just fine.”

“Thanks, you two.” Lio manages to snake an arm around each of them. “I really... I don’t know what I would do without you.” 

“Uh, You’d probably die or something.” Gueira snickers. “We’re something that can’t be replaced!” 

“It’s true.” Meis gives the smaller man a pat on the back. He spears a pepper on a fork, and presses it up to Lio’s mouth. “Now eat, you’ll only feel worse on an empty stomach.”

Tearfully, he takes a bite. 

“...Is it good?” Gueira asks, a bit sheepish. 

“It’s really good.” Lio nearly sobs. 

...

The dishes are done and set in a drying rack to be ignored. Lio’s belly is full beneath the hole, and it’s shrunk down quite a bit from when it had stretched him far enough to bring him to tears. He just wants it to go away. 

“I feel so lonely.” Lio admits.

“I can’t do anything about your flames going away. But I think Gueira and I can help you feel in good company, right?” 

“Yeah. Maybe you’ll feel a little better.” 

Two sets of hands, one lanky and bony, and anoth thick and calloused, run up his sides and beneath his white shirt. 

“...Thanks, you two.” He mutters. Gueira and Meis are hot, like fire, but not the kind that they had all once shared. It’s simple, human body heat, and he’ll never be given more than that again. But it’s certainly something. Kisses are given to him from both sides, and his shirt being taken from him only makes him feel hotter. The sun falls in over them, and the black tops of Gueira and Meis’ heads are both hot from the light falling atop of them. 

His heart swells up, and the hole gets a little smaller. It’s not love, in the traditional sense, but it is certainly something similar. A good feeling courses through his body, circumventing the gap and somehow managing to reach his organs. It falls down into his cock- and Gueira happily frees it as it becomes too much to be held in by the tight garments. Meis sets him into his lap, kissing him and rubbing his entire body up and down in a soothing and sensual manner. He shouts as Gueira takes his prick between his lips. He breathes hot air onto it like he had once teased him with little sparks, and licks from top to bottom. It’s hot, hot, hot, but just not enough. Meis holds him tightly in place, and Lio squirms in the restraining grasp, vision becoming starry as Gueira sucks him off. 

Just when he’s going to burst, the delicious heat leaves him. Lio sobs out of frustration- and the redhead pinches his cheek. “Soon, boss.” He purrs. 

After a momentary pause, a bottle of lube is procured. Gueira flips the cap and rubs the sticky substance between his fingers, and Meis does the same while Lio continues to take up residence on his lap. Gueira pushes his legs open and a finger up into his ass, squirming and rubbing inside of him with all of the heat his fingers can give him. Meis joins, stretching out Lio’s hole and making him writhe from the full feeling of it. He’s becoming a bit fuller, a bit less lonely, and he leaves deep red scratches on Gueira’s neck and Meis’ thigh as they press about inside of him. 

“More, more...!” Lio demands. “It’s still...” He pants. “Empty, I want to feel fuller.” 

“Fuller? I can make that happen.” Gueira unzips his trousers to free his prick. Lio delights in the sight of it, thick and hot and full, hopefully enough to make the void disappear. He reaches for a condom, and Lio reaches his foot out to stop him. 

“Don’t. I want to feel full, I said.” He demands. 

Gueira gives a cheshire smirk, and tosses the rubber to the wayside. “What the boss wants is what the boss gets, right Meis?” 

“Right.” The other man pulls his asscheeks apart, showing off Lio’s hole. It’s too long for Gueira to messily slap lube onto his cock, and to balance himself to the point where he can press inside of the blonde.Lio slams his head back and into Meis’ shoulder, finding his mouth invaded by the other’s tongue. It still tastes like soy sauce, but it’s filling him- in both ends his body is stuffed, hot precum and saliva dripping into his empty body. Lio cries out and sobs into Meis’ relentless mouth as Gueira starts to move, jostling them both around on the sofa. Lio grabs and scratches at him hard enough to bruise, and Gueira shows no hesitation in fucking him. He doesn’t need to be coddled and petted, he needs to be filled. 

As the redhead’s moans get hotter, he can tell that Meis shifts beneath him, slathering his own cock in the sticky substance. Lio clings onto the man pounding into him, knocking all of their hips together, when finally a shout comes from the other man. 

“Yes...!” Lio digs his hands into the back of Gueira’s head as delightfully hot cum shoots into him, painting the inside of his body white. And, as the other’s prick starts to soften, he pulls it out- but before anything leaks from him, Gueira’s heat is replaced with another. The blonde gasps and Meis’ nails dig into his sides. The spent and sweating Gueira fills up his mouth, their roles reversed in keeping the boss full to bursting. 

Lio moans, gasps, and grinds onto Meis’ dick as he’s bounced and rattled around on his lap. The lewd sounds of fluids and skin fill his ears, heat fills his ass, a thick tongue fills his mouth, and his eyes fill up with tears as his prick is clamped down on with a hand, keeping him full of pleasure. The hole is near to full, just a hair’s width across, and Lio’s organs feel almost in place. All of him feels almost like where it’s supposed to be. 

“Boss..!” Meis gasps, and Gueira releases Lio’s prick. Lio cries out as more hot cum spurts into him, as his own flies from his body and all over each of them. 

He collapses, and squeaks as something else is added into him. 

“Hehehe, that’ll keep you full for a minute.” Gueira snickers. Lio squirms around the shape of a plug in his ass, keeping the mix of heat locked up in his body from dripping back onto the couch. With the liquid slipping around inside of him, Lio lets the pair adore him, kissing him and massaging him. But the pleasure and rush die down, and the hole slowly gets bigger again, widening and squishing his organs so tightly that the plug slips out, spilling seed out onto the floor with a lewd squelch. 

“Woops.” Gueira mutters. “Oh well.” He presses his lips to Lio’s cheek. “Feel any better now?” 

“Mhm.” Lio gives the worn-out response. His fire isn’t there to instantly reinvigorate him anymore. His body is relaxed by the endorphins of sex flowing through his body, and the welcoming bodies embracing him, but he is still empty. 

He gives them each a return kiss and rub. At least they were trying. That’s the best that could be done.

...

Lio finds himself staring at a bizarrely illustrated article on how to find a hobby. It’s one of dozens that he’d read through in the last few hours, nose glued to a screen in hopes that the internet’s wealth of information could provide him with some answer to his troubles. Upon investigation, he’d found other once-burnish just like him. They too, had troubles finding the matter with which to patch the voids that the promare had left in them. Therapy, religion, leisure, and exercise would seem to be the most common ways that one could cope. 

“Hello?” 

Lio shakes his head. A shadow casts itself over him, light blocked by a Galo Thymos shaped figure. 

"Yes?" The blonde drones.

"You've had your nose stuck to your phone for hours, man. Everyone else went home already. What's got you so caught up?" The larger man peers over the screen, and Lio hurriedly shoves the device in his pocket.

"Oooh, I see." Galo purses his lips. "It's a dating site, huh? You got yourself a girlfriend?" He teases, reaching his head over. "Come on, let me see her! Is she hot? Cute face? Does she have nice boobs?" 

Lio scoots away from the other man's interrogation. "I'm not seeing a woman!" Lio exclaims, clutching his phone with red cheeks.

"So it's a guy?!" Galo bellows. He hops over the back of the couch, making grabby fingers repeatedly at the smaller man. "You HAVE to let me see now. What kinda guy are we talking about? Is he hotter than me? There's no way he's hotter than m- oof!"

"Will you cut it out?!" Lio snaps, punting Galo in the chest with his boot. The other man clatters off of the couch with a gasp.

"Ouch! Alright, I get it. Not committed. I respect that." Galo rubs his back, coming to a sit. 

"It's not that. You're so nosy." Lio huffs. "Why are you here after hours, anyway?"

"It's my turn on the bathrooms." Galo admits. "Those toilets aren't gonna scrub themselves!"

"Right." Lio stands. "But you have a point. I need to go home."

"Ah." Galo balls his fist and sets it in his other hand. "That reminds me why I came to see if you were still here!"

Lio turns on his heel. "Why's that?"

"Let's go get dinner somewhere! To celebrate!" Galo hops back up to his feet. Lio cocks his head to one side at this. 

"Isn't a cake enough? You don't need to treat me to anything else." Lio waves him off, and turns his back yet again. Like a puppy, Galo trails right behind.

"Well yeah, that was for you guys joining the team!" Galo protests. "But that means it's been a year since you n’ me became friends, so we should celebrate that too!"

"A year..." Lio pauses. He actually manages to chuckle. Of course Galo would want to celebrate something like a friendaversary. "Hmph. Has it really been that long?" Lio manages to smile at his coworker. 

"Even longer actually, I'm late!" Galo informs him. "I've got a place in mind that I think you're gonna love, it's one of my favorites."

"Pizza?" Lio smirks and tilts his head. 

"Oho, not pizza. Even better!" Galo pats him along. "C'mon, it's a surprise. You'll love it!"

Lio gives a chuckle. "Alright, alright. But it's your treat."

"Of course!"

...

FWOOSH

Grains of rice go flying up into the air, followed with tails of orange flame that spark and fizzle up into the ventilation overhead. The warm, inviting smell of cooking vegetables and meat is joined by the sound of sizzling rice on a hot grill in front of them.

"What did you say this is called again?" Lio mutters amidst the show of their meal being cooked. The chef tosses an egg up into the air, cracking it in two on his spatula for the contents to fall onto the hot grill below. 

"It's teppanyaki!" Galo watches the chef scramble the egg with a bright sizzle. "It's a way of cooking from far to the east!"

"Aah." Lio, mesemerised in spite of it all, glues his eyes to the show ahead. His stomach growls. He is hungry, after all. It was far past his usual dinnertime. He and Galo are alone at a table suited for ten, where even strangers could come to share a meal. It is definitely something that the other man would enjoy.

"Oh, this is the best part!" The larger whispers into Lio's ear. The once burnish leans in, watching as their chef stacks the layers of an onion atop of each other. They form a little cone, and he pours some form of liquid into its center.

With a flourish, the inside of the onion is lit ablaze, and fire bursts from its center in a heated display of orange flames. Lio opens his mouth in a wide grin as it flares. He feels his heart twitch. The flames seem to shoot up out of their little vegetable prison in slow motion. Lio’s hair is knocked back by a blast from the heat. The flare shoots up, licking the metal fan above with its spiky tongue. Burn, Lio can hear a ghost whisper in his ear. Hotter, brighter, more! 

But just as soon as it had come, the fire returns to nothing. 

Lio feels his heart slam against the inside of his chest, and he tries to hide the fact as their food is set out on plates before them. The chef bows, and they thank him as he returns to the kitchen. 

"Dig in!" Galo snaps open a pair of chopsticks, barreling into glistening steak. 

"It looks good." Lio snaps apart his own, licking his lips. His hands shake a bit, perhaps from being hungry. His heart begins to calm down as he takes a bite- the salty, savory flavor coats his tongue and eases his nerves. 

"You like it?" Galo asks mid-munch. 

"Mhm." Lio agrees. 

"Great!" Galo chimes. "I thought you'd like that last bit with the flames. I figured maybe it'd make you feel a little better."

"Huh?" The blonde questions. 

"Well, maybe it's just me, but you've seemed a little down in the dumps lately. Now that most of the burnish are settled into their new lives, I'd guess it's been pretty boring for you and your friends." 

Lio can't stand Galo sometimes. For as much of a knucklehead as he is, he is incredibly perceptive to the feelings of others- his own included. 

"It's not that bad." The blonde takes a bite. "It's just different."

"Well it can't be easy." Galo states. "I mean, your whole life has been turned on its head."

Lio grits his teeth. 

"You used to be this big powerful leader amongst the burnish, and now you're just a normal guy."

"Galo-" Lio clenches his fist beneath the table. 

"It's gotta suck, having all those people looking up to you and then they kinda forget who you are."

Lio opens his mouth to snap. 

"I really admire how strong you are, Lio. Even as stubborn as I am, I wouldn't be able to keep going after everything you've been through. You're a tough guy!"

Lio relaxes. He takes a sip of water, and sighs. "... It's just what I have to do."

Galo drags him closer in the crook of his arm. "Yeah, but you keep your head up even when times get tough! You're made of steel, Lio!"

"Ah... Can you let me go?" The blonde squirms, and is released. He rubs the back of his neck. "...Thanks. Maybe I have been a little less than myself as of late. I'll be alright."

"That's for sure. Now eat your food, it's gonna get cold!"

...

Well, at least his stomach is full. The sun had set during the time that the two men had spent inside. Galo could be such a big brother type at times, making sure that he ate every bite. At one time, Lio’s appetite could have rivaled his or Varys’- but as of late, he eats more like a bird. But for now, he feels full, and more than ready to return home. 

“You wanna get an ice cream somewhere?” Galo asks. “Still my treat.” 

Lio shakes his head. “Not tonight... But maybe another time.” 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Galo nods. “The last thing anyone needs is ice cream nightmares.” 

Lio has to chuckle at the comment. “That too.” He approaches his bike, and turns to wave to the other man. “I need to head home, now. See you at the station in the morning.” 

“I’ll be there!” Galo moves to mount his own bike. Lio sits, and pulls his key from his pocket. But looking back up, he finds a certain fireman leaning on the handlebars. 

“...Something wrong?” Lio questions. 

“No. I just wanted to say thanks. For coming with me.” Galo grins as he says this. “I hope it helped.” 

In spite of himself, Lio smiles back. “It did.” 

“Good! Then my work is done, and I can sleep easy!” Galo thrusts himself back up, marching back to his own motorbike with both hands on his hips. “But really- thanks for being such a great friend for the last year, Lio. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” He sits on the bike, and turns the key in its ignition. 

“Should I be saying the same?” Lio calls over the engine. 

“You better! Not everyone is lucky enough to be my best bud!” Galo scoots himself and the bike over beside the blonde, and elbows him in the side. “You take me to your favorite ice cream spot sometime soon, got it?” 

“Right right, go home and rest.” Lio laughs, waving him off. 

“Aye-aye, big boss!” 

With that, Galo’s tail lights speed past him. Lio starts his own, watching the other man veer off towards his own home. All the while, he feels a grin settled on his lips. He isn’t sure how Galo has the energy to simply... Be, the way that he is. No matter what scenario he finds himself in, the man somehow manages to heal others. 

The ride home is quiet, and he looks forward to his bed as he steps into the front door of his apartment. Lio sets his keys beside the door, then steps out of his shoes. He sighs- and flips on the light of his apartment. The yellow glow is not the same as the neon flicker that had always led him, but it guides the way to the bathroom. 

Lio looks in the mirror. Then, he stops, and places his hand on his chest. 

The hole is barely there. It still remains, but his body is more comfortably set to its own shape than it had been in months. The little pinhole is hardly noticable, and it lets his lungs breathe, his heart beat, and his stomach is able to comfortably settle his dinner. 

Had Galo done this...? Could he have found a way to fill the hole? Lio wonders, removing his shirt and scratching softly at his chest. Maybe it would go away for good- and he wouldn’t have to face this anymore. He could just go back to a better time, when there were no burnish and no painful memories, and no gaps in his body. If anyone could help him, it would certainly end up being Galo Thymos.

...

“Lio... Lio!” He hears a voice calling for him, and he wants to answer. However, nothing seems to move. He’s left limp, dying, turning to nothing. It’s fine. In the end, he would end up helping someone. If he were to die, then that would be alright. 

“I guess I have no choice-!” 

Warmth. Something with a wonderful, gentle heat presses up against his lips, kissing him. Perhaps it was death, come with a gentle embrace into the unknown. Lio would be okay with that.

But... There’s also a hand on his chin, and one beneath his head. Holding him, keeping him safe as his body drifted away to return to earth. 

However... Slowly, it comes back. His body returns to its master- and Lio begins to feel again. But it’s cold. So very, very cold.

Something leaves his throat, leaving an icy trail as it is pulled out of his lips. 

Lio opens his eyes. Galo’s face sits above him, smiling. But there is something clenched in his teeth- a wriggling, tiny thing. It screams and cries in pain, like a mouse caught in the fangs of a cat. 

“Galo...?” He breathes. “What is that?” 

“Oh, this?” The man pulls the thing from his teeth. “Nothing important.” 

Lio’s stomach churns. “I’m cold. Give it back to me.” 

“It’s better if I don’t.” Galo holds the wailing, snakelike thing out of reach. 

“Galo, give it back! Please, I don’t know what I’m going to do without it, please give it back!” Lio sits up, shaking the fireman like a child.

“This is for the good of everyone, Lio.” Galo squeezes the thing hard, and it screams a horrible shriek of dying agony. “We have to save everyone. But you can’t have this anymore, you’ll hurt someone.”

“I don’t care!” Lio sobs. He scratches at Galo’s hand. “Give it back, give me my fire back, I’m nothing without it, please-!” 

Pop.

...

  
  
  
  


When Lio wakes the following morning, he huddles up in a ball beneath his covers. He can sit in his own body heat for a while, festering in his sweat from the night prior. But, unfortunately, nature calls. A rush of cold air flies through his chest as he sits up. The hole greets him with a malicious good morning jump. 

At least he had the day off, he thinks. Sunday ended up being one of his days away from burning rescue, left to his apartment and his thoughts. So far, he thinks that God must have taken some pity on him to keep him home on this one day of the week. 

As he brushes his teeth, this sparks an idea in the back of Lio’s mind. He returns to bed, and tugs his phone from its place on the charger. He flicks his thumb to a familiar name in his list of recent messages.

_ Are you awake? _

Lio sits back in bed, mindlessly scrolling his news feed while waiting for a response.

_ Now I am. What’s up, boss? _

Meis responds quickly. Lio feels a bit of guilt- he’d woken the other man on his day off, too.

_ Are you still going to church? _

_ Yea. Sorry, if you wanna meet up later we can _

_ Actually, do you mind if I come with? _

_ Come with??? To church? _

_ Yes _

_ Uh...? Sure, whatever floats your boat. I didn’t think you were the religious type. Lol _

_ I guess I’ll find out, right? _

_ Yea. Hang tight, I’ll send you the address. Parking’s in the back, be there a little before nine if you can. _

_ Got it, thanks _

After a moment, a link directing him to the location of the church pops into his message box. He slinks his way out of bed once again, leaving the safe and cozy solace of his covers for the outside world. 

Nine wasn’t far off. Lio returns to the bathroom to brush through his sleep-messied hair, avoiding eye contact with his own reflection. He doesn’t want to look, as he fears seeing his bedroom staring back through his own abdomen. But he glances at his mop to make sure all is in order, and pulls it back into a short ponytail. Coming to his closet, he is quite glad to have such a taste in clothes. A blouse and black slacks will do, he tells himself. He had a proper suit- but he tells himself that it might be a bit much.

He leaves, repeating the directions to himself over and over. He could always stop at a light to see where he was meant to be going, but he hopes that won’t kill some of the time that he needs. Lio mounts his bike, and tucks his phone tight into his pocket.

Thankfully, his memory serves well enough to find the place that he’s looking for. A few landmarks on the map had led him to the location. Which, he has to admit, feels a bit out of place. 

The building seems ancient in contrast to the glassy, sleek architecture that Promepolis had become world renowned for. It is relatively short, jammed between two tall buildings like a bumper keeping them apart. Its rusty brick exterior is topped with a black tile roof, complete with a high steeple at its peak. 

Lio steps off of his bike, blinking slowly as he looks up to the cross atop of the building’s high altar.

“So, what put the fear of God in ya?” There’s a bump on Lio’s shoulder, trailed by a familiar voice. He turns around, and for a second, he has no idea who it is standing behind him. This man has long, jet black hair pulled back into a painfully tight ponytail, a similarly stark jacket over a white dress shirt, along with garishly pink tie. 

More importantly, his arms are covered. Lio had never seen Meis outside of a tank top, or some other armless equivalent. 

Lio gives a humored huff. “Afraid of God? You underestimate me.” He jokes. Looking about, the blonde finds something far more amiss to Meis’ sleeves. “Where’s Gueira?”

“Home. He does his thing on sundays, I do mine.” His left hand man shrugs. “I love him, but everybody needs their ‘Me’ time, yknow?”

“What exactly is ‘Me time’ for Gueira?” Lio asks with a coy grin. 

“That’s for him to know, and hopefully for me not to rescue him from.” The taller man sighs. He takes a step up the church stairs, and a bell begins to ring from the altar overhead. “Better get a move on, we’re late.”

Lio follows the other man up and in through the heavy wooden doors of the building. Even more so than the outside, it has an ancient feeling, as if it had always been here. Sturdy wooden pews are sat in rows, leading up to a small, stagelike platform with crosses and a platform from which to speak. Garish purple carpet interrupts the floor, and it is the newest looking thing in the building. 

However, behind this all, illuminated by the sun outside- is a vivid depiction of the virgin Mary holding her newborn son. The dust of the room is lit by reds and blues, shimmering like glitter. Lio glues his eyes to the sight of the piece, following Meis as they sit against the very back wall.

A man walks out to the center platform ahead of the rows of pews, dressed in worn, yet noble seeming robes.

“Lord have Mercy,” He states, and everyone follows. Lio tries to spit the words out as fast as he can to blend in. Meis gives him a wink, as if to say ‘you’re a newbie, don’t worry about it’. 

Lio listens closely for a few minutes. As a child, some of his family had been people of the christian faith. Aunts and uncles that he barely remembers had praised him for being the only child who actually liked to wear those stuffy clothes- as he ran around in search for plastic eggs, happy as any other boy. He remembers shaking the little objects. The best ones had little candies, or maybe a few dimes and nickles hidden within. The jingling sound comes back to him as a dish is passed around the room, filling with the donations of those before him. 

Lio tries to listen, tries to take in all the words of God and Jesus that the man regales. But, the once-burnish’s eyes are once again taken to the glass up above his head. The sun shoots in through them, and all of their triangular pieces come together in a glimmering, holy flurry that speaks to Lio’s heart. The eyes of the infant flicker, blue triangles beaming with light. He can hear a childlike squeak in his ear, feel it in his chest. ‘Burn brighter, burn hotter, you must keep burning!’ His heart pounds against his chest, and he grins, entranced wholly by the light.

A cloud rolls by, and the light fades. Lio falls back from the edge of his seat and back against the pew.

“Amen.” They all say, and Lio whispers it as well.

...

Lio almost floats down the stairs. The emptiness has robbed so much of his weight that he’s scared that he’ll just float away. Like a plastic bag, or a sheet of paper, Meis will have to run after him just to make sure his body doesn’t fly off into the sewers below. 

“...Boss.” Meis calls out to him. “You want to tell me what’s wrong?” 

The blonde sighs. Once again, he fears the wind will knock him over. He stands half-way down as Meis waits for him on the sidewalk below. 

“I... Need a hobby.” Lio admits. “I’m bored.” Bored, and falling apart at the seams- but he leaves it at that. 

“Bored?” Meis cocks his head to the side. He laughs. “I guess I know the feeling. Life’s not the same now that we’re not a bunch of fuckin’ vagabonds anymore.”

Lio balls his fists at his sides. “Don’t you miss it too?”

Meis’ grin reverses. “...You mean the promare? Yeah.” He takes a step up. “It’s not like believing in god makes that go away. It just helps.” 

Meis puts his arm around Lio’s shoulder. The blonde feels steady, like he can walk without the fear of flying away. “You’ll find something that puts a fire back in you. Faith isn’t for everyone, but maybe Gueira can help you out. If you’re looking for a hobby, he’ll probably be able to help you find one.” 

Lio steps onto solid ground, and nods his head. "It doesn't hurt to try."

...

"Put your back into it, boss! That gluten isn't going to make itself, teach that little shit a lesson!"

Lio punches a ball of wet, sticky dough, sending flour up in a cloud from off of the counter. Gueira stands beside him, referee to this brawl between the once leader of mad burnish, and a heaping lump of dough. Meis, his hair down and arms exposed, watches on in quiet amusement. 

"You do this all the time?" Lio huffs. He rolls and smacks the dough onto the counter over and over, feeling it grow more elastic with each turn. 

"Sure do! I don't think I've had bread that isn't home made in a month." Gueira leans back against the counter. "I've made white bread, sourdough, rolls, pizza dough..." He continues to list off his yeasty accomplishments.

Lio laughs through heavy breath. "How did you figure out that you like to cook?" He questions. "Before, I would have been shocked if you could operate a microwave."

The redhead cocks his red mop to the side. "I dunno, I was hungry. Why else do you cook?" He questions back.

"But you- god, is it done yet?" Lio pauses. Gueira pokes the ball, and shakes his head. 

"Not even close!"

"Ugh, alright. But you don't seem to cook just because you're hungry, that's human nature." Lio flips the dough again. "You make all of this food because you like to do it, right?" 

The redhead blinks. "I guess I do, yeah. It's pretty fun, getting to make something like bread out of nothing but some dry powder and water. Getting to make something out of next to nothing is great! And I get to eat it at the end!" 

"Making something out of nothing..." Lio muses. "I wish I could find my own way to make that happen. I don't... Get it."

Gueira slips off his jacket, and rolls up both sleeves. "Take a breather, boss. I'll finish it off!"

Lio shakes his head. "I've got it-" He huffs. How out of shape had he become? Had the fire taken all of his strength? He punches the dough again, out of frustration, sweat falling onto the counter. 

He's so weak, he thinks. He can't even knead a fucking loaf of bread right. He can't make anything, not when he is so empty, when the hole in his chest is so cold that it would put yeast to an icy grave. He is nothing, can't someone take him and make something out of him? Anything?

"Boss..." Gueira mutters. 

Lio stands over the counter, huffing, his nice clothes marred with patches of flour. His hands won't do what he tells them to all of a sudden. The hole expands, rips a sob out of him, and it spreads to his limbs. His arms won't move because the muscle doesn't connect to his body- his hands float in midair, a thread seeming to keep him held up against the counter. It stretches and pushes at him, threatening to finally end it and eat him alive. 

"Boss." Meis calls. 

Lio heaves. He can't feel his lungs, they're squished so tightly that he can't breathe. 

"Lio." 

Meis puts a hand on his shoulder. Lio shudders, worried that the motion will make him fall apart. 

"Fuck, what do I do? Call and ambulance?" Gueira whips out his phone. 

"No. I think he's having a panic attack." Meis puts his hands around Lio's shoulders, holding him in place. 

"A huh?" Lio pants. He doesn't know where his heart is, but wherever it had been forced, it pounds. "'M fine-"

"You are not fine. Come here." Meis pushes him along, gingerly, and Gueira follows like a duckling. 

Lio's body connects with a couch, stability under his quaking body. Meis picks up a blanket from the corner of the sofa, and pulls it taught around the blonde's quivering shoulders. 

"Have you eaten today?" Meis asks. 

Lio has to work the words out of his mouth. "Ah... No, No..." He shakes his head. The hole creeps higher, trying to get to his brain. 

"Gueira, go warm up some milk."

"Right." 

Meis draws his brows tight with worry. "You ok if I touch you?" 

"Mm." Lio gives a faint nod. 

Meis wraps his arm around his shoulder. Body heat comes to touch him, and the warmth staves away some of the bitter cold threatening to eat him alive. There's a hum from a microwave that sounds a million miles away. 

"You're alright." Meis tells him. "Don't worry about a thing, Boss. We've got your back." 

"Yeah. Just take a deep breath." Gueira comes to his side as well, carrying a ceramic mug. "You should drink this."

Lio wants to argue. But he can see a bit of steam rising from inside of the cup. Heat, warmth, everything he needs. He gingerly takes the cup, and presses it up to his lips. He takes a small sip, and he can feel the ice in his belly melt. The frost turns to water, and it falls out of his eyes. 

"How am I supposed to keep living like this?" Lio sobs. "I don't know what to do without my fire in me anymore, how do you guys manage it? I feel like I'm going to die if I have to go on like this anymore." 

The other two exchange looks. 

"Yeah. It sucks, majorly. I hate not being able to burn anymore- I always have that itch, and I feel like I'm going to hear those voices in the back of my mind." Gueira tells him. "But it's getting better. You'll get better too, and you'll find something that makes you stop feeling like that."

"Mm." Meis agrees. "I didn't know what to do with myself, once I realized that it was gone. I still forget that I can't use it anymore, at times. But I've started to get used to it, as time goes on."

Lio shakes his head. "I don't feel like this all the time. Sometimes I'm alright, and I hardly even think about it."

"When do you feel alright?" Gueira asks. "Maybe if you think about it for a second, you can find something that those times have in common!"

The blonde sets his nose to the rim of the mug. "... I went out with Galo last night. That felt normal." He takes a breath, and the steam sends warmth into his lungs. "And usually, when I'm at burning rescue, I feel alright. And if I have someone else over to my apartment, that usually makes me forget for a while."

Lio turns his gaze up. Both men squint at him, mouths drawn into tight lines. "What?"

"...Sounds like Galo Thymos is the lowest common denominator, boss." Gueira mumbles. 

"Don't be silly." Lio tuts. "He's a friend, of course I enjoy being around him."

"If it were just being around your friends, you might not be having a meltdown right now." Meis points out. 

"That's..." Lio frowns. “I don’t know. Maybe.” He takes another sip of the milk, and it chips away at the emptiness settled in his gut. “Even if that is the case, it’s not like I can use that to make me feel normal. He’s a person. I can’t rely on someone else to. I don’t know, fix this.” 

Gueira sits back. “Well, guess that’s true. You’re looking at this the wrong way though, boss.” He points his finger right up to Lio’s nose. “You’re not broken. You don’t need fixing, any more than any other burnish now that we’ve all gone back to being normal humans again.” He sighs. “We all feel the same way without the promare, or whatever you said they’re called. It’s like losing a friend. So maybe think of it like grieving someone who is gone.” 

“Yeah. Everyone has their own way of getting past the feeling of someone they’ve lost.” Meis agrees. “I think you’re onto something, with what you told me earlier. Maybe find a hobby.” 

Lio takes the last sip. “...Thanks, you two.” 

“That’s what we’re here for.” Meis pats him on the shoulder. “We’re not therapists, but we’re free!” 

“I’m not, pay up!” Gueira demands. But at the end of it, there is a beep. “Oh shit, oven’s ready.” He hops up, making a beeline for the stove.

...

Lio sets his misshapen little loaf of bread onto the counter. His apartment is dark, and it’s quite cold as well, creating a pulsing chill in his center. He drifts to the bedroom, pulling a blanket up and over himself. The draft persists, and he doesn't even have the energy in him to cry. 

His slacks from that morning wrinkled around his hips, Lio wiggles his phone out from the pocket. He is actually quite unused to having one again. Of course, he'd always been tapping away at a screen in his younger years, as most other kids of his era would. But, the first step to survival as a burnish was to eliminate all traces of oneself. Family, friends, social media- all of it abandoned and deleted. Left to the past. He silently wonders if his parents are even still alive. 

That's why now, it is strange to see his contacts filled with names and icons. Gueira, Meis, Ignis, Aina... The list went on. Each conversation has its own flavor, some full of memes and emojis, and others that could have passed for a telegraph. 

He flicks to Galo's name. Guilt and tension pool up in his stomach, mixing with a terrible kind of excitement. He shouldn't talk to him. He's just using Galo. All he'd ever done is use him, anyway. He'd used him to fake capture and to liberate the trapped burnish. Then, he'd taken advantage of the other man by using him to pilot the Deus Ex Machina, less interested in saving mankind than crushing Foresight to pieces between giant metal fingers. Finally, he'd stood by and let Galo clothe him, feed him, abusing his kind heart when he should have been perfectly capable of fending for himself. 

Hey. What's up?

Now he's using him to try and fill the cracks in his heart. How vile he'd grown to be, without the fire. 

Not much!!! Hbu?? 

Lio receives the message almost immediately, to a point that the buzz of his phone surprises him. Then, he scrunches up his face in a confused squint. He has no idea what 'hbu' is supposed to mean. So, he can only take an educated guess. 

I'm good, just got back from being out for the day

Nice! I had a hell of a day!!!

Lio smiles at the glowing blue screen. 

Oh yeah? Tell me about it

They go back and forth on the contents of their day. Galo had gone to the grocery and forgotten his frozen pizzas in the back of his bike. Reportedly, he'd been caught helping a little old lady cross the street near to his apartment, and suddenly the food had been the last thing on his mind.

Lio somehow manages to let slip his maiden voyage into baking. He even sends a picture of the sad, lonely little loaf of bread that he had brought into the world. Galo does tease him for the look of it, but Lio can sense that it's no more than teasing. 

Can you bring me some tomorrow? It looks like play doh, but I bet it tastes good!

You'd like me to bring you plain bread?

Yes please!! 

Sure, if you're that intent to be my guinea pig. Lol

I can't wait! I'll see you tomorrow ❤

A little heart sends Lio's pounding. Galo could be so cute, so willing to be kind to him, and he doesn't even know what a shell of a man he is. And he'd sent a little piece of his heart in a text message, somehow. 

I can't wait to see yo-

Lio shakes his head. 

See you tomorrow, Galo...🙂

The blonde rolls over. 

...

Believe it or not, Lio had fought the fire at one point. He didn’t want to be burnish- to be a monster, a murderer, the very thing that lurked in the nightmares of those lucky enough to have escaped those neon flames. But it would lash out at him, screaming, crawling out of the edges of his eye sockets from lack of anywhere else to go. It had been miserable, fighting it so fiercely. 

He remembers how good it had felt to just give in. To go out into the middle of the night and just burst, feeding the fire and letting it consume him. In that moment, everything had been right. All of the little troubles of his past became fuel for the flames to melt away. Lio felt as if he’d been reborn, so tiny compared to this force. It was big, and it was a bit scary, but it held onto him as if he were its child. They were connected.

The pain of losing that is so hard. As if he’d watched his mother leave him, taking that awful chunk of his body along with her. Lio’s eyes well up with cold tears, and a forboding figure looms in the corners of every nightmare, and he wants so badly to feel something again. To feel that love, that safety, or anything near to it.

The warm, sturdy hand of Galo Thymos is almost as great. Lio fights it. Just a friend, just a coworker, just some idiot who had happened to bump into him at the right time, and throw his life off course. But he’s so welcoming, stupidly likeable, and radiates an unmistakable heat. He’s big, and he’s a little scary, but he treats Lio like family. 

It feels oh so good to give in. 

“You free later?” Lio asks the other firefighter, pulling off a heavy pair of boots. Galo preens at his hair in a tiny locker mirror.

“Huh?” Galo leans back, peeking past the metal door.

“Are you doing anything tonight?” Lio asks again. 

Galo looks up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment. “Nope! My calendar is clear. You wanna hang out?” 

“Yeah.” Lio replies, peeling off his sweat-soaked sock with a frown. 

“Well then, I’ll put you down on the agenda!” Galo tosses his shirt back over his chest, and shoves his jacket back into the locker. “Where do you feel like heading?”

The blonde only shrugs his shoulders. “Wherever you want to. Surprise me.” 

Galo’s eye sparkles at those words. “Surprise you, huh? I can make that happen!” He shuts the locker door, slamming it without even realizing the enthusiastic force he’d given. Lio isn’t looking as the other man marches across the locker room floor, all but scooping him up in the crook of one arm. 

The blonde gasps, and Galo erupts out into laughter. “See? Gotcha already!” He chuckles, and Lio can’t help but smile back. Galo’s warmth fills the hole up, nearly to its entirety, and it opens back up just a bit as he’s let go. Straightening his back, the other man pulls his keys from his pocket and gives a teasing jingle. “Whenever you’re ready~!” 

“On my way.” Lio slips on his worn-in everyday boots, and follows right behind. There’s a stupid, embarassing grin on his face- he trails a step before the other fireman, just so that it won’t be seen. For the first time in a while, he actually feels good. Feels right. 

Galo lugs him around various nooks and crannies of Promepolis that he’d never explored. A noodle restaurant buried beneath offices, a park with monkey bars that Galo is too tall to swing from, and a bar crammed impossibly tight between two skyscrapers. They can sit in front of it and talk freely, or at least as freely as Lio is willing to. But, he’s all too happy to sit behind a mug of beer and let Galo go on and on. And without being told to hush up, he will just keep going. And so, Lio keeps sipping. He leans forward a bit, then a little more, and orders another drink. 

“Go onnnn...” Lio rolls his hand on his wrist. “Then what happened?” He chuckles. 

“And then, after I was all covered up in fire retardant goo, I flung my matoi around, and-” Thunk. Lio’s head connects with Galo’s chest as he slumps over. “Woah there big boss- I think you’ve had enough!” 

“Mhm...” Lio makes no effort to move. Galo is whole, and he smells nice on top of it. He almost feels guilty for going and letting himself get drunk like this. But, oh well. Galo would take care of him. He always did. 

And he does now- covering the tab and picking Lio up by his armpits. The blonde rummages about in his pocket, withdrawing some change and lint. Some of it makes its way onto the counter, and the rest clammors to the floor as Lio slurs a thanks to the bartender. Galo lugs his drunk body out of the door, keeping a tight hold on him. 

“Geez Lio, you’re really in the mood to cut loose.” Galo comments, dragging the other man to his bike. “Hmm...You’re not gonna make it back home on the back of my bike like this. I’ll call a cab. You just-” Galo leans the staggering man against his bike. “Hang tight for a minute, okay?”

“Alright... You got it!” Lio leans back on the bike, setting his ass against it just to stay afloat. He watches Galo tap at his phone, looking for a ride to go home. “Hey, can we go back to yours? I wanna stay over.” 

“My place?” Galo cocks his head to the side. “You don’t need to, if you want to go back to yours! I’ll go with you, and Aina can come help me grab my bike tomorrow.” 

“I’m so lonely at home.” Lio tells him, his mouth moving faster than his brain. He staggers, nearly falling. But, true to form, the larger man catches him. 

“...Sure thing, bud.”

Before he knows it, Lio is being hoisted into the back of a cab. He sits in the back seat, his hands neatly folded in his lap, just staring at some sticker on the ceiling of the car. He can’t read what it says in the slightest. He just continues on with his stupid smile, and lets Galo’s gabbing with the cabbie fill the background. When he’s pulled out and hoisted into a fireman carry, he only gives a little grunt of protest. 

“Are you gonna carry me up the stairs?” Lio slurs with a grin as Galo starts ascending the steps to his apartment. “You’re so strong...” He lilts, wiggling around a bit. 

“It’s a force of habit. You can’t carry someone caught in a fire in the elevator, it’s the stairs- or hope Aina’s around with a carrier!” He laughs. 

“You’re a carrier.” Lio laughs. 

“You’re drunk as hell.” 

“Arrest me.” 

“That one’s not in my jurisdiction!” Galo teases right back. He hoists the smaller man up flight after flight of stairs, like Lio were just a bag of groceries. The blonde’s teasing turns to mumbles, and he almost manages to pass out whilst slung over Galo’s shoulders. But he’s rattled around a bit, and he opens his eyes to find a door in front of them. It opens with a gentle beep from the lock, and the pair cross into Galo’s apartment. The smell is welcoming, and Lio slinks out of the other man’s grip and onto the floor. 

“You gonna make it?” Galo questions. 

“Mhm, where’s the bathroom?” Lio asks, turning his head from side to side. 

“Right over here- come on.” Galo continues to guide him, and they come to another door. “Alright, I’ve taken you as far as I can. You’re going solo on this mission.” He pats Lio forward, even turning the light on before closing the door behind. 

Lio focuses his mental energy on coaxing his dick out, giving a deep sigh of relief as he manages to let the pressure on his bladder ease. Maybe he gets a drop or two on the floor, but what were a couple drops of piss between friends? He turns, almost forgetting to shove his prick back into his pants, and stumbles out of the door. 

“You didn’t fall in! I was out here practicing my breast stroke.” Galo makes a false swimming motion. 

“Ha ha.” Lio states, managing to keep himself upright. 

Galo dims the light in his living room. “Hey, why don’t you come sit down- and we can hang out and watch a movie or something until you’re ready to hit the hay!”

“Okie dokie...” Lio meanders his way to the couch, flopping back into the worn cushions in front of Galo’s television. 

“Lets see, I’ve got...” Galo takes a seat beside him, and pulls up a menu of films in his collection. “Uh... I’ve got Akira, Wolf Children, Paprik.... Ah. Sorry, I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to this stuff.” 

Lio snirks. “I’m too drunk to notice.”

“Welp, you’ve got a point.” Galo chooses a film, and Lio can’t even make out the title. All he cares about now is the feeling of Galo’s couch, the squish of his carpet beneath his toes when he slips off his boots, and the movement of his body while he settles in to a comfortable spot. He just listens to the film, buzzing in his ears, and revels in the feeling of just letting go. 

He takes it a bit further, relaxing back into the couch, leaning ever so slightly toward the other man. 

“...What time is it?” He asks. 

“About midnight.” Galo informs him. “You ready to wrap things up? You look beat.” 

“Nah...” Lio shakes his head. “I can stay awake...” He yawns. 

Galo turns the volume down. “...You know Lio, you can come here whenever you want.” 

“Hm?” The blonde blinks slowly, processing the other man’s words as well as his muddy brain can. 

“You can come to my place whenever you want.” Galo pulls him into the crook of his arm again. “I don’t want you to have to tell me that you’re lonely. You can hang out with me any time, no questions asked. I love having you around.” 

Lio sits on the words, and feels his cheeks growing red. “...You don’t have to be so kind to me. I’m fine.” 

“Yeah, but I want to be. You’re my best friend, Lio! I’m happy when you’re happy!” 

The smaller man’s eyes well up. “I’m sorry.”

“Awh, I’m sorry- don’t cry, Lio.” 

“You’re happy when I’m happy... I haven’t been happy in a long time.” The blonde sniffs. “But, if it means anything, I feel okay right now.”

Galo gives him a deeply sympathetic look. “Then I’m over the moon, Lio.” He turns off the T.V., and stands up. “Why don’t you get some sleep? If I’m not up when you are, come get me. I’ll call you a cab to take you to the station to get your bike, alright?” 

Lio frowns at the loss of heat, but nods. “Alright.” He curls up on his side, folding himself into a ball. He rubs his face into the warm cushion that the heat of Galo’s ass had left. 

“Pfft, you cold? Take this.” Galo tosses a throw over his body. “How’s that?”

“Good.” Lio replies, making himself entirely at home. He already knows what hell awaits him in the morning- but while the alcohol is still in his system, he decides to just relax. 

“Alrighty. If you need anything at all, you just come and get me, you got that big guy?” 

Lio gives a half-hearted salute. “Yup.”

“Then get some shuteye! I’ll leave something out for your head.” Galo tousles his hair, and turns. 

“Thanks... For being here for me.” Lio mutters. 

“It’s a privilege, Lio.” 

...

Lio regrets every decision that he’s ever made. He feels empty, not because of the hole in his body, but because he’d barfed out everything else. 

Galo had tried to hold his hair, but not much to Lio’s surprise, he had presented himself as a sympathy vomiter. So, he’s left by himself at the porcelain throne. But, after rinsing his mouth out, the emptiness actually feels welcome in the face of nausea. He slips down the painkillers that had been left out for him, and drags his sore body out into Galo’s apartment. 

The other man gives him a cup of coffee and a waffle. Hell, even Galo Thymos had proven himself a better cook than him. Lio sips the warm liquid down, quietly recounting the night before. His friend takes a seat across from him, pouring far too much syrup over his breakfast. 

“...Thanks again.” Lio tells him. 

Galo sets the bottle down, and smiles. It’s too gentle for someone as hot headed as he is. Lio almost feels a bit scared by the expression. 

“Don’t mention it, man. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to be alone.” The other man nods behind his coffee. “...Maybe you don’t realize it, but a lot of people care about you. We’ve got your back.” 

Galo reaches out, and takes Lio’s hand. The blonde feels so tiny. 

“I’ve got your back. ‘Kay?”

As Galo’s thumb presses into the bones of his hand, rubbing a tiny circle, Lio realizes that he is in over his head. He could control the fire. He can’t control this. 

“Mhm.”

...

Lio can’t help himself. More and more, he finds himself going home with Galo, and vice versa. It isn’t as if they hadn’t been to one another’s places before. But at this point, one’s home was becoming another’s. The hole goes away for the most part- just as long as he’s with Galo. The cold is stuffed with warm, cozy stuffing, as if he were some kind of teddy bear. Problem solved. As long as they were together, he’d be just fine. Living together, working together... So long as this balance is maintained, Lio no longer has to worry about the emptiness. 

He knows full well that this isn’t feasible, or healthy, or even morally acceptable. But he just can’t seem to stop. Now that he had finally found a foothold, SOMETHING that made him feel good,he just wants it to be there forever. But Galo isn’t something that he can cage, or hold, or just keep at his side like a kind of emotional-support-firefighter. 

But Galo seems to like being around him. He’s never upset, or annoyed when he’s asked to come around. This almost makes things worse. If Galo would just push him away, instead of opening himself and letting Lio come to him every single time, then maybe it would be easy to keep a safer distance from him. But that just never comes- Galo invites him in for that closeness, his kind fire never seeming to flicker out. 

Lio knows that he’s fallen in love with Galo Thymos. But, he can’t tell if he’s in love with him- or simply infatuated with the good feelings that he shoves into the void that the fire had left. He has to make it stop, before he hurts the person that he thinks he may love. 

It’s just so hard. He tries to say no, but it’s like offering an overstuffed child another cookie. Of course they’d say yes to just one more, and he says one more evening on Galo’s couch, because he’s some kind of junkie. He tries to go home, and then realizes that the door he walks through isn’t his own, but Galo’s. The tension builds up in him, guilt growing heavier by the day in his stomach. How could he just use Galo? What kind of monster had he turned into? 

It has to stop, it must stop, before he eats Galo alive with his selfishness. The hole was going to swallow him up, and never spit him back out. He can’t let him suffer that fate. 

“Hey, we heading back to my place later?” 

Lio shrinks a bit in response to the question. No, he’s going home, and he’s going to sit alone in his lonesomeness like he rightfully should. 

“Sure.” Is the word that escapes his mouth. 

Galo smiles, and the cottony stuffing in Lio’s chest grows more dense. “Sounds like a plan! I’ll pick up something for food, I’m beeeeat!” He draws out the last word, stretching out his shirtless body after the day’s work. 

Lio bites his lip, and turns away. He stands, and Galo just keeps smiling at him. He’s always so intuitive, so why not now? Can’t he tell how stressed out he is? No.Galo has some kind of talent for reading people’s mood, but he isn’t a mind-reader. 

‘As long as you’re happy, I’m happy’. 

Lio tosses his jacket over his shoulder, mulling over that again. He is happy when he’s with Galo, and empty when they’re apart. But now, the guilt of using the other man for his own gain had begun to weigh on him... So, Galo would be hurt, in the end. The last thing he wants is to hurt him. He finds it funny- as a burnish, he had been a hero to his people. As a normal man, he destroys every good thing in his path. 

He gets on the wrong bus. Galo’s is to the left, his apartment is to the right. Lio sighs, and pulls his phone from his pocket.

“I don’t feel well. I’m going to my place for tonight.” He sends to Galo, tucking the device back into his pocket. It buzzes before he can even slide it half way into his pants, and he pulls it back into view. 

“Oh no! Are you sick? Why don’t I come to you, and I’ll doctor you right up!!!” 

Lio frowns. He rubs the surface of his phone, turns off the screen, and turns it back on again. 

“You don’t need to.”

“But it sucks to be alone when you’re sick :( I can just come over and hang out on your couch if you want!”

Lio grits his teeth. Galo wants to be around him. Lio had somehow tricked him into believing that he was someone worth being near.

“I'm alright. I can take care of myself."

Lio shoves the device back into his pocket, and spends the remainder of the bus trip staring out of the scratched window. It seems like an hour before the vehicle stops at the corner of his street, leaving to deliver its other passengers. 

Bit by bit, Lio feels the stuffing in his middle fall away. Like burning cotton, it turns into nothing but strings of carbon that fall out of him with each step that leads home. It hurts, and it's cold. But it is ok, he thinks, because at the very least he is sparing Galo of being around him. 

As the stuffing falls out and fades away, Lio fumbles to open his apartment door.

The hole gets bigger. It hadn't grown larger in a long time. But he can feel it. Slowly stretching wider, pushing at his insides and threatening to squeeze them out. Lio gasps, his heart pounding hard and his lungs painfully tight. It hurts. 

Coherent thought starts leaving him, after he has the idea that maybe he should call Gueira and Meis. But that's not fair to them. Why would they care for the shell of someone they used to look up to? 

Lio feels so empty, so cold, and he can't help but lie down in the middle of the floor- panting and trying to find some kind of warmth in the scratchy carpet. This was it. The hole had finally caught up to him, and now it would eat him alive. Surely, he had been turned inside out, and the rift between the world of his own and the promare's would tear his being to shreds. 

He feels like he's going to be sick. Turning inside out, being ripped apart. What had he ever done to deserve this? Hadn't he been good? Hadn't he done what he could to save the burnish? He is a worthless husk, now, without anything to give to the world. Like burnt cotton, he is nothing but a worthless strand of carbon. 

Lio feels the hole spread across his entire torso. Immobile, he lies there. Then, he closes his eyes. Maybe there could be some good in this. If he died, here on his floor, after being torn apart by his own emptiness, then maybe the whole world would be better off. He sighs, and lets himself stop breathing. 

"...Lio?"

He gasps. The space snaps back to the size of a mere donut hole, and blood gushes into all of Lio's organs. Shaky, he manages to turn his head toward the door. 

Galo stands in his doorway, backlit by the hall's lights. He has a look that Lio has never come across on his features before. Terror- something that he didn't think that Galo could even feel, let alone show so openly. 

Then, he realizes, lying on the floor of his dark apartment- Galo had thought that he was dead. That he'd killed himself, and had been lying on the floor going cold. And Lio had wanted that, for a moment. He'd accepted that he might die, and even welcomed it. For a moment, he would have taken Galo's patchwork heart and torn it all to shreds again. 

"...Galo?" He mutters, his voice just barely crawling out of his mouth. "Did you pick my lock?" He questions, the only thing he can really think to. 

"Oh my god." Galo slumps over completely, hand over his heart. Closing the door swiftly behind himself, he comes to Lio's side. The blonde isn't able to protest as he's suddenly manhandled, flopped over onto his back. He can feel Galo's hand on his wrist, taking his pulse. 

"Did you have a seizure?" The other man asks, setting the back of his palm onto Lio's forehead. 

"No..." The blonde breathes. "Go home. I told you I can take care of myself." He sits up, still wobbling. With a dry gulp, he balances himself in a sit. 

"Did you take any pills?"

"No." Lio shakes his head, and sets it in his palms. "Just get away from me!" He squeaks, trying to hide away from the other man. 

"Tell me what's wrong with you!" Galo exclaims. He pulls Lio's hand away from his face. "Lio, I'm an idiot, but I'm not stupid! There's something wrong with you, and you won't tell anyone about it, and I don't know  _ why-" _

"Shut up!" Lio finds energy to smack Galo away. "I told you to stay away from me, I don't want you here,  _ nothing is wrong _ -"

"Lio." Galo stresses, moving his hand to his shoulder. "Please... I'm supposed to help people, especially those who are important to me. Just let me help you, I can't stand to see you like this." 

There are tears in his eyes. Galo  _ cries _ because of Lio's stubbornness, shaking him like a kid. "I love you, please, I have to help you before you go and do something stupid-"

"I'm not." Lio mumbles. "I'm not going to do anything like that, I..." He gulps again. "I'm just... In a lot of pain."

"...Yeah?" Galo tilts his head. "Tell me about it."

The blonde narrows his eyes. "You'll think I'm crazy."

"Whatever it is, I'll help you." Galo nods. 

Lio turns his head down. He opens up his shirt, button by button. "There's a hole." He mutters. "Where the promare used to be. It's just been getting bigger and bigger ever since they left." 

"A... Hole?" Galo questions. 

"It's so lonely." Lio continues, trying in his tired mind to make sense. "I used to have someone, something, with me all the time. The promare gave me company, and something to live for. I lived to protect the other burnish, and to feed the fire inside of me... But now that it's gone, I'm empty. I don't have anything that makes me valuable anymore." 

He pauses. "I don't know who I'm supposed to be, anymore. I'm not burnish, I'm not the Boss, I'm not even some vagabond kid... I'm nothing."

The hole gets bigger. The stars of space shine through it. At least Galo would be here to say goodbye, as it consumed him. "This hole is going to eat me alive." He manages to smile. "But you know, Galo... Even with all of the pain that I've felt in this past year, it hasn't all been bad. I'm glad that I was able to be your friend." 

Galo places his hand onto Lio's chest. 

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Lio." He shakes his head while he speaks the words. "All of you is right here. You're Lio, and that's all you ever needed to be."

The blonde opens his eyes. He brings his hand to sit atop of Galo's. And... Nothing is there. Rather, something is there. It's himself. His body, whole and complete. 

"Huh?" Lio mutters, groping around at himself. "But... It was just..."

"Lio." Galo mutters. He shifts, coming to sit on the smaller man's knees. He cups his face with both hands, and presses their foreheads together. "Nothing is missing. You're a whole person. Can't you see it?" 

Galo leans back. He touches his own chest. "I know how you feel. It sucks. It's like something is missing."

Lio scoffs. "What could you know?"

"More than you'd think!" Galo snips back. "For a long time, hell for this whole time, I've had this feeling like something is missing from me, I mean..."

Galo gives a half harted grin, and loses it. "I know it's a sore topic, but I kinda lost the guy who I looked to like he were my dad, y'know?" He rubs his chest thoughtfully. "And it's not even like he died. He turned out to be a terrible person, who not only wanted me dead, but who had already killed so many people... I felt like I was a bad guy too, because I looked up to him, because I trusted him." He lets out a weak chuckle. "I was even stupid enough to try and visit him. He didn't want to see me." 

Galo sniffs, and wipes a tear. "And that still sucks. But you know, I'm not the kid that has to live in someone else's shadow anymore! I'm my own person, and what happened wasn't my fault!" He manages an actual grin this time. "But you know, being with you always makes me feel better. You're someone I can look up to, for really being a brave hero."

Lio turns. "I'm no hero."

"The hell you aren't! You saved tons of burnish, and helped them find homes, and then you joined the team and helped even MORE people!" Galo insists. "You're such an amazing, cool, awesome, super great guy, and you've gotta learn to see it! Sure, nobody's perfect, but you're super great!" 

"You're the one who does the good." Lio can feel his cheeks grow pink.

"We both do cool stuff! We're part of a team!" Galo reassures him. Then, wrapping his arms around the smaller man, he holds him steady in an embrace. "And I can tell you for sure that you're gonna be alright. You've got a whole lotta people who care about you watching your back."

"Mm." Lio lets himself be held. He bites his lip.

"Do you wanna cry?" Galo asks. "Go ahead, this shirt's dirty anyway."

Lio sobs, and it feels  _ so good. _ And Galo doesn't seem to care. He just waits, showing a surreal patience, just allowing him to hiccup and sniffle and shed tear after tear. All the while, a strong hand pets the back of his head, soothing him in the midst of release. 

"...Are you hungry?" Is the first thing Galo asks.

"...Yes." Lio tells him. 

"Me too. Let's eat something, okay?" 

"Mhm." The blonde nods. 

Galo helps him up off of the floor, steadying him just enough so that he can walk on his own. Lio gives him the number for the nearest pizza shop, and sits on the couch to wait for the delivery. Meanwhile, Galo places an order, forgoing the overhead lights for a floor lamp. Nothing too bright to hurt Lio's pounding head. 

He sits beside the smaller man, and seems to sense that it's not the best time for words. Just being together in quiet for a few minutes is healing in itself. 

...

"Thanks." 

"No prob. I'm glad you feel better." Galo munches on the end of a pizza crust. "You know, for a second, you really had me worried. I just had this feeling, like something was wrong."

Lio thoughtfully swallows. "...I didn't want to bother you. I've clung to you for the last few weeks, and it's been unfair of me."

"You? Clinging to me?" Galo cackles. "I've been stuck to your side like a leech!"

Lio shakes his head. "Maybe... But I feel a lot of guilt, like I've used you to medicate myself."

"Don't sweat it man, I love being around you. I would have told ya to stay off of my case if I didn't!" Galo pulls another slice from the box in front of them. The coffee table in front of Lio's couch grows littered with crumbs, but it's all well and good. The larger man leans forward, somehow managing a somber look with pizza in his mouth. “For a second there, I really...I thought you’d tried to off yourself. I’ve known for a while that you weren’t doing so hot, but I didn’t want to push you around and just make it worse. I mean, I’m a firefighter, not a therapist.”

“...I felt like I was going to die. And I didn’t fight it.” Lio admits. “But then you walked in the door, and I realized.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m not ready to go. I still have things I want to live for.”

Galo gawks at him with some pity. “You can’t let that fire in your soul go out, Lio. I’m proud of you for fighting, you’re super tough.” He swallows. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I mean, I...”

“What?” Lio cocks his head to the side. 

“Nothing, I just really am glad to have you as a friend! And as part of the team!” 

The blonde narrows his eyes. “Is that so?” He questions. Then, he manages to give a wry little grin. “...You like being around me, do you?” 

“Uh-huh.” Galo nods, and Lio scoots a bit closer. Galo turns his chin upward. “I mean... Maybe, uh, I like you. A little more than just friends. Or partners.” He puts his hands up. “B-but now’s not the time to drop that kind of a bomb on you! You’re already kinda emotionally compromised, and I don’t wanna just stress you out even more, I mean-” 

Smooch. 

Lio kisses the other man’s cheek. 

“Hearing that makes me feel much better, actually.” Lio half-chuckles. “I like you too, Galo. ‘More than a friend.’” He teases.

He’d never seen the other man so flabbergasted, but for one time. After he’d given Lio the ‘kiss of life’, so to speak, and lost his mind over having to start a fire. 

“Huba- ImeanIdon’tknowifI’mreally- Aah-” Galo stammers like some kind of whale, shaking his head and turning crimson as his work trousers. He takes a deep breath. “So do you wanna, like, be my boyfriend?” 

Lio laughs. “If you’ll be mine.” 

“Oooh-” Galo’s jaw drops open. “No way... But if we’re both in agreement, then it’s settled! We’re each other’s boyfriend!” 

“Is there a contract I need to sign?” The smaller man questions. 

“Sure is.” Galo closes his eyes, leans in, and points to his lips. “On the dotted line, please!” 

“You’re such an idiot.” Lio chuckles, and all but throws himself forward. 

There isn’t a cool rush of air as he moves. Just the warm, strong muscle of Galo’s lips. Lio pushes their chests together, and there’s nothing missing. He’s whole. And not from being stuffed full of cotton or tears, but simply by being Lio. He doesn’t know how he hadn’t seen that before. But, Galo always had a way of proving him wrong. 

“Mm...” Galo lets out a tiny groan. He scoops Lio up, tugging him onto his lap. In his mind, the blonde had imagined this kind of scenario going a bit differently. Perhaps bending Galo over his couch and ramming into him, or turning him upside down and eating his ass until the other cried, or anything other than this. Gentle, soft, and oh so easy to just fall into. 

“Can I have some more?” Galo leans back to ask. Lio blinks. 

“Yeah, looks like there’s two slices left.” He comments, turning to the pizza box. 

“Wh- no, not the pizza.” The larger laughs. “I want something for dessert, y’know?” He gives Lio’s ass a quick squeeze.

“Is that it?” Lio questions. “...Do you really want me?” 

Galo nods his head. “Mhm.” He licks his lips. “I’ve thought about you a lot. I want to know what you look like, everywhere.”

Lio cocks a brow. “Oh yeah?” He pops the first few buttons on his shirt. “Be my guest.” 

He watches as Galo almost starts to salivate, just at a peek of Lio’s skin. It’s not like they hadn’t seen one another topless before...But here, the context is a tad different. “I’m not going to hurt you if I do, right?” Galo questions. 

Lio huffs. “No, I’m not made of glass.”

“Okay. I’ll be gentle.” Galo assures him. Then, much to Lio’s delight, he continues to open him up. Showing more and more of himself, he lets Galo unwrap his body as he pleases. Just to encourage the other man, he gives a sigh, and arches his back up into the touch. 

Galo does the same, leaning forward to suck at Lio’s neck. There’s an audible pop as he lets go, surely leaving a mark in his wake. “I’ll take it real easy on you, ‘kay? I want you to feel good-” He pokes the smaller’s chest. “In here.” 

“Go right ahead.” Lio murmurs. “Take it easy for now- because once I’m a bit more myself, I won’t be so gentle with you, Galo Thymos.” 

“Agh, how am I supposed to contain myself when you talk like that?!” Galo exclaims. Lio gasps, feeling a grip around his trunk. Then, gravity leaves him, and his feet disconnect from the couch. 

“What are you-” Lio wobbles a bit, and Galo marches across the floor. “I can walk to my bedroom, Galo!” 

“No can do, you’ve got a free ride on the Thymos Taxi service!” 

“Oh boy.” Lio sighs, letting himself be carried. He watches the livingroom disappear from view as Galo lugs him down the hall and to his bedroom. Lio subconsciously wishes that he’d taken the time to make his bed that morning- but oh well. He’s dropped onto it anyway, lying back on messy sheets. “So much for being gentle, huh?” He teases. 

“I am gonna be!” Galo insists. “Your couch is too small, I didn’t want you to fall off. Now-!” He leans over, crawling on top of the smaller man. Lio suddenly feels just how much smaller he is, too, with the other’s body looming entirely over him. However, there’s something a bit comforting about that. 

“I can make you feel good.” Galo continues. He leans his head down, kissing Lio’s chin, and then his neck again, pushing away his open shirt to show the pink flush in his chest. The blonde lets himself relax, giving himself over to the feeling. He doesn’t have to be afraid. 

The larger man sighs against his neck, squeezing Lio’s nipple between his finger to the point where the blonde jumps. He giggles a little, and pinches the other until it hardens. Then, nearly poking the other in the eye with his hair, he moves down to suck at one of the nubs. He rubs with his whole palm at the other side, and Lio can’t believe just how much of his torso the other’s hand takes up. He arches his back a bit, spreading his legs enough to be inviting. 

And, Galo seems to openly accept the invite. His palm finds it’s way over all of Lio’s pelvis somehow, rubbing his crotch to feed the growing tightness. “You’re so cute, Lio.” He praises in a soft voice. “I want to feel more.”

“You’re the cute one.” Lio laughs between breaths. “Do whatever you want.” 

“Mm.” Galo nods. He peels Lio’s shirt off of him, setting it aside to unbuckle the smaller’s belt. He tugs at his partner’s pants, and grumbles something about how tight they are. But, he manages to take them away just the same. Lio is left in his boxers, tent pitched to the point where the head of his cock pokes out of the top. 

Making eye contact for a brief second, Galo crawls down and over Lio’s body, hovering over the top of his cock. He laps through his underwear, causing Lio to squeak at the hot feeling. 

The blonde spreads his legs wider, arching back and letting his mouth come open. Galo continues to lick and suck at him through the cover of his clothes, the wetness going from warm to cool in different places as he gives them attention. “More-” He breathes out. “If you’re going to suck it, do it right at least.” 

Galo doesn’t need any more than that, before Lio’s spit-moistened underwear is thrown aside with an unfortunately damp sound. What isn’t unfortunate, is hot breath that makes Lio’s entire body shudder with excitement. “This work for you?” Galo taunts, lapping the entire shaft of Lio’s prick from bottom to top, letting the curve of his tongue grip him. 

“Perfect.” Lio tells him. 

Galo flashes a grin at him, then quickly reopens his mouth. He’s nearly able to swallow Lio whole- taking him in and bobbing up and down. He’s not the best, with spit flying everywhere and a couple of protests from his gag reflex. But Lio could care less. He allows his voice out, moaning and sighing, trying to say without words just how good he’s being made to feel. 

“Galo...” He breathes out. He gets a little whine in response, vibrating on his prick. Lio takes a breath in, and speaks the same word out again. 

“Lio.” Galo pulls his cock out for just a moment to say back. He licks it again, and nuzzles the shaft with his cheek. “You’re so good...” He sits up, and crawls over the smaller man again, scooping him up. “You don’t know how much you mean to me. For a second time, I thought I’d lost you...” 

The blonde opens his eyes, heart sinking. But he tilts his head to the side, offering a slight smile to the other man. “I won’t leave you. I’m going to stay right here, Galo.” 

“Thank god...” The larger man sighs. He holds onto Lio for a moment, inadvertently allowing his twitching prick a moment to calm down. But Galo moves away again, sitting on his haunches. “You got any lube?” He asks.

“Yeah, one second.” Lio turns over, reaching over the bed to fumble in his drawer. He watches Galo crane his head over, getting a not-so-sneaky look at Lio’s stash of toys. But it only lasts a moment before a half-used bottle is pushed into his hands. 

“Right.” Galo nods, and takes a moment to lie on the other side of the blonde. He coaxes Lio a bit, so his hips lie on the larger’s thigh, Galo’s still-clothed cock temptingly close to his hole. 

Lio leans his head closer to the other’s, letting it sit against his pectorals as Galo coats his fingers in lube. He lets his legs sit wide open, offering a delighted “oh” as fingers rub at his ass. One pops into him, and Lio gasps with excitement. 

Galo wraps his free arm beneath Lio’s head, petting the peak of his mop. “You’re really soft on the inside...” He muses, exploring the inside of his partner’s body. He adds a second digit, giving long, smooth strokes to Lio’s walls. “That feel good?” 

“Mhm...” Lio nods, eyes wrenched to a shut with pleasure. 

Galo strokes his spot, and the blonde’s head rolls back to moan. The larger man holds onto him, rubbing that place over and over again, until Lio’s cock is dripping sticky precum onto his belly. 

“Does it feel good?” Galo asks with another long stroke. 

“Yeah...Oh god, yeah, it’s good...” Lio groans. Galo pulls his hand out, butting Lio’s chest with the base of his palm. 

“How about here?” He asks. 

Lio smiles, and tilts his head toward the other more. “Very good.” He replies. 

“Great.” Galo nuzzles the top of his head with his chin. 

“Don’t stop there.” Lio bucks his hips. “Fuck me.” 

“You sure?” The other questions. 

“Yes, stop stalling, please Galo.” He begs at the tail end. 

The fireman smirks. “Well, since you asked so nicely!” He shimmies out of his pants, tossing them to the point where they smack the wall and crumple to the floor. Lio can’t get a good look at his prick, but he can feel the heat of it, growing even hotter as Galo pumps lube over the whole of it. Meanwhile, Lio bites his lip, unable to stop himself from swaying his hips from side to side out of raw want. 

Galo tugs him closer up to his torso, pushing one of his legs to lie over his hip. Lio takes a deep breath in, snaking his arm under Galo’s to place is own hand at the back of his head. He’d fucked dozens of people over his lifetime, but never like this. Wrapped up in one another, stroking the other’s hair and mumbling their name, he hasn’t felt anything like it. The heat of Galo’s soul in his heart flickers right beside him, and it’s so welcoming to feel the flame. 

With a few careful prods, Galo presses into him, pushing until Lio can feel his balls pressed flush to his ass. 

“Liooooh...” Galo half-moans. “Fuck.” He curses, pulling back out again slowly. 

“Aah... What about you now?” Lio questions. “Feel good?” 

“Oh yeah.” Galo nods. He pulls back and forth, dragging himself in and out to get a feel for the motion. Lio rubs his head against him. 

“Don’t hold back. Just let go, you won’t hurt me.” Lio instructs. It seems that his partner needs no further instruction- he snaps his hips forward, jostling Lio’s whole body in the process.

The blonde cries out, head tossed back and eyes barely open and bleary. Galo’s cock is huge inside of him, spreading his walls and simply filling him. It’s been so long since Lio has felt  _ full. _ He cries out over and over again, no care for the fact that his neighbors might have their ears turned to the lewd commotion. Galo squeezes him tight, pressing another shout from Lio’s lungs and calling back with his own. Lio can hardly believe what noises he makes- far from the deep grunts he would have expected, Galo whines and whimpers and moans. 

Mind going from him a bit, Lio chokes out words. “I’m so full-!” He makes out. “Oh fuck, Galo, Galo, I’m so full of you, I’m gonna blow up!” He blurts. 

“It’s alright, I’ll-” Galo moans. “I’ll fill you up Lio, don’t, ah, don’t feel empty anymore-!” 

“I don’t.” Lio pants. “I think... Mm, I think I’m going to be alright...!” 

“Good.” Galo presses his weight onto him, pushing deeper. “We’ll both be okay... We’re gonna help each other, and it’ll all be alright.”

“Mm...!” Lio squeaks. “I’m gonna cum, I’m-!” 

“You can cum, I want you to.” Galo pushes into him harder, faster, squeezing him tight to the point where Lio’s face is pressed to his chest. “I love you, oh I love you Lio, I love you I love you I love you-!” 

“I lo...I love you too, I...” Lio chokes. “Ahah!” He shrieks, cum bursting out of his cock and into the air, splashing back onto his belly. Galo gives a heavy grunt, and then tosses his head back. Lio can feel his seed burst into him, hot and sticky as it paints his inside. All he can do is lie back and pant like a dog with every twitch of the other’s prick, emptying everything into him. 

“Ah... Hah...” Galo pants in turn, withdrawing from him. There’s a wet sound as he pulls out, cum leaking behind with the motion. Yet, Lio doesn’t mind, closing his eyes to catch his breath. They both shift, hips and legs moving to keep arms comfortably intertwined.

They’re both quiet, for a few minutes, sitting in the aftermath of everything that the evening had brought. But Galo continues to pet him, stroking his back like a cat as they curl up. 

“...I’m sorry, Lio.” The larger mutters.

“...Why?” Lio blinks. 

“I shouldn’t have told you I loved you like that. I really mean it, but I guess I just embarassed myself...” Galo mumbles. 

The blonde shakes his head. “I believe you. Besides, you said it earlier, when you found me lying on the floor.”

Galo frowns, thinking. “I did!” He exclaims. “So it counts!” He pauses. “Wait though, you said it too- you love me?” 

“Yes, Galo.” Lio laughs. “I love you.”

“That’s so cool.” Galo squeezes him up to his chest. “I never thought I’d hear you say that... But fine, I believe you too.” He takes a deep breath, and sighs it through Lio’s hair. “And I meant it, about everything being alright. I know all sorts of stuff that might be able to help you. Ya ever thought of therapy?” 

“Therapy? Pfft.” Lio rolls his eyes. 

“Don’t knock it man, I go once a month.” Galo informs him.

“Really?” The blonde asks. 

“Sure do. The guy I see is pretty cool, too. He’s really helped me out. I think you’d like it.” Galo tells him. “Your soul’s fire might be a little dim right now, Lio, but all it takes is the right fuel to bring the blaze back.”

Lio nuzzles the other’s chest. “When do you think I’ll find it?” 

“I can’t tell you that much.” Galo mutters. “Just that it’s out there.” 

“Mm...” Lio relaxes. “I hope it’s soon.”

“Don’t worry too much. You’ve had a long day- just get some rest.” Galo coos. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

...

“Welp, you didn’t have anything to make food with, so I got some breakfast delivered!” Galo heaves a bag full of takeout onto Lio’s kitchen table. The blonde yawns, scratching his belly after only throwing on a new pair of boxers. 

He opens one of the takeout boxes. “More waffles?” 

“Yes.” Galo states with absolute confidence. 

“Thank you.” Lio gratefully takes a container, sliding it across the table to sit. 

Galo peeks into his own box, tongue smacking against his lips. “No problemo!” 

They sit, and Galo once again empties far too much syrup onto his food. Lio just pours a bit from the sauce cup that it had been packed inside of, not wanting anything so incredibly sweet. 

“Hey, do you wanna move in with me?” Galo asks, as simply as if he’d just questioned what the high temperature of the day was set to be.

Lio, meanwhile, almost chokes. “...Huh?” He squawks, wondering if he had actually woken up or not. 

The fireman points his fork at him. “I asked, do you wanna move in with me?” He swallows. “We’re already at each other’s places all the time anyway, we work together-” He takes another bite. “And I don’t pay rent, so you’ll save a ton of money!” 

Lio squints. “...What do you mean, you don’t pay rent?” He questions. “Come to think of it, how do you afford to live in your part of town with our paycheck?”

Now it’s Galo’s turn to choke. “Oh. Well, the thing is-”

Lio frowns. “Galo.”

“Yes?”

“Is Kray Foresight paying your rent?”

Galo’s eyes go wide, and he purses his lips. “...Nobody told me to start paying up, so I never mentioned it. Guess it doesn’t hurt.” 

“For goodness sake...” Lio places his forehead in his palm. “But it would be nice to be able to save that cash every month. Maybe that could open up the door to finding a better place for in the future.”

“Always planning ahead!” Galo nods. “There are a lot of things that I love about you Lio, and that’s just one of them.” 

“Someone has to think about the future.” The blonde sighs. “But it’s settled. I’ll move in with you.”

“Woohoo!!” 

“Galo if you spill that syrup on the carpet I am NOT getting my deposit back-!” 

...

Moving into his new apartment had been alright. Lio liked the place- it was relatively cozy, came with a fridge, and actually came to feel homey after a while. The most difficult part had actually been growing accustomed to coming home to the same place every night. He’d always found a different place to rest his head- but after moving in, he greets the same familiar pillow each and every night. 

And, as with most people, Lio had picked things up to add to his home. A used couch, lamps, tables, a television, and various other little nick nacks that had stricken his fancy. 

He has too much crap. Moving out blows. 

He’s on the phone so much. With Galo’s landlord, with his own landlord, then with the bank, then with the moving company, and he doesn’t think he’s had to sit through so much elevator music in his LIFE. He’d rather fight fucking Vulcan again than have to quibble over and over with the old woman at the bank who insistently complains that his generation ‘doesn’t know how to do anything on their own anymore’. Lio Fotia and Galo Thymos are the sole reason why the old woman hadn’t suffered a fight akin to the corpses of  _ Pompeii-  _ But, he holds his tongue. After all, it wouldn’t be right to take his own stresses out on an old woman, however cranky she might have been. 

In the mess of it all, he checks the mirror each morning. The hole is gone. He gets a second opinion when they try to fuck on Galo’s too-small bed, and he accepts that it is not there. The promare are gone, but they had not taken his body with them. His body is his own, a strange concept that he isn’t quite used to. It isn’t the promare’s, nor is it Galo’s, it is simply his to have and use as he pleases. 

And use it he does, lugging things up and down the stairs of his apartment building. He isn’t as strong as he used to be- but he finds a way to accept this. A little bit of elbow grease from one Varys Truss and a hundred bucks leads to his apartment being rather empty. 

And, in finding that Galo’s bed could not hold two people during the hubbub of the move, Lio had agreed to bring his own along. He’d admittedly jumped the gun and bought a king sized mattress, out of sheer want for a big, comfy place to sleep. It had been on sale, too. He supposes the discount worked out doubly in his favor. 

But with the mattress gone and lying on Galo’s floor, the frame remains. It is the last stupidly bulky thing that has to be dragged out of Lio’s apartment. And oh, how he’d been dreading the act. The men who had delivered it to him had a field day getting it through the door- and they were professionals. Lio doesn’t know how he and Galo are going to manage to put their collective brains and brawn to the task. 

He sits on the floor, sipping lukewarm water, staring at the stupid thing in complete contempt. The stupid fucking bedframe was just what he needed. Things were finally turning around, looking up for possibly the first time in his LIFE, and the object taunts him. Stupid, square, oversized chunk of fucking wood-

Lio stands up. He’s reached a point of breaking. 

Calmly, he grabs his keys and wallet. Leaving his near to empty apartment, Lio drives on his bike to the nearest hardware store. He enters, makes a single purchase, and then turns straight for home. He silently parks his bike, walks up the stairs, and turns the key in the door. With the crinkle of a plastic bag, he sets his purchase onto the floor. 

He licks his lips, a kind of pleasure beyond sex bubbling up in him. He unwraps the item from its plastic casing, trashing the rest of it straight to the floor below. 

Lio ignites the shiny new blowtorch, and giggles gleefully. 

He’d told himself he wouldn’t do this, wouldn’t burn. But he can’t stop himself- the bed frame seems to sweat and cower as he lurches toward it, flicking the torch on and off. He can hear the memory of a whisper- hotter, brighter, more! And he obeys. 

Lio takes his torch to the wood, and howls with laughter. The burnish varnish stinks, and the thing won’t actually catch a flame with a little torch, but just the taste of smoke on his tongue is enough. It feels so good, unlike Galo can make him feel, unlike Gueira or Meis can make him feel. Only fire can do this to him- even if it is not his promare, it somehow seems to obey him. 

Lio burns and burns and burns, butting the embers out with his palm and unplugging the smoke detectors after they begin to blare. The black scorch marks on the flesh of his enemy are enough to make him high. 

His torch fizzles out, empty of fuel. 

Lio drops it, sits on the ground, and cries. He holds his face in his hands and cries like a little kid. What had he done? He’d broken a promise to himself, damaged something meant for he and Galo to share, and probably thrown out his security deposit to boot. 

“Lio?” A voice comes to him. 

“What?” The blonde shoots back. He lifts his head up. “Oh, is it six already?” 

Galo sets his things down. “I’m a little early. What’s up?” 

“Look.” Lio points to his shame. “I couldn’t help myself. I burnt the bedframe all to hell. I’ll just throw it out and get a new one tomorrow.” He sniffs. 

“Don’t cry, it looks like it’s still just fine!” Galo encourages him. “I mean...” He stands back up. “You know, it’s actually pretty cool looking! It’s like that woodburn art you see at craft fairs n stuff.” 

“Huh?” Lio cocks his head to the side. 

Galo sits with him. “Check it out-” He scoots closer, and Lio slowly composes himself. He watches the other man pull out his phone, pulling up images of wood, burned to display patterns and beautiful hues of red and black in its natural grain. Lio looks at his handiwork. 

“Huh... It does look similar, doesn’t it?” He blinks. 

“Yeah! We should keep it. It’s a work of art!” Galo tells him. “Maybe you can even try making something fancy with it later.” 

Lio nods. “I guess fire made something good then, right?” 

“Right!” 

Lio stands, and lets himself into Galo’s arms. They work together, and so long as the both of them have a grip, moving the bedframe to their new home is a breeze. 

...

“Hey, check out the date.” Gueira looks at his phone screen. The blue light of it reflects off of a wedding band.

“What?” Meis pops his head onto the other’s shoulder.

“It’s been two years today since we joined Burning Rescue.” The redhead comments. 

“No cake this time?” Meis pouts. 

“...Two years?” Lio asks. “It seems like so much longer.” He pulls out his own phone, and double checks the date. It was right- and he’d barely even noticed.

“Yeah, so much has changed!” Gueira flops down next to him. “I finally got Mrs. Gueira over her to marry me, and now you’re shacked up with goofball.” He shakes his head. “The world has gone to the dogs, boss.”

“I think it’s better.” Lio chuckles. “But, a lot has changed.” He stands, and pulls his jacket over his shoulders. 

“Where are you off to?” Meis questions. 

“I’ve got to get home. I want to finish that piece off by tonight.” Lio explains.

“You and your wood stuff... I guess as long as it makes you happy boss!” Gueira remarks. “Send us pictures when you’re done! I know you’ve been working hard on it.” 

“Yeah, but don’t let Galo knock into the thing until it breaks.” Meis snickers. 

Lio smirks. “Who do you think is the one banging it into the wall?” 

The other two cackle at the remark, and Lio leaves them. 

He comes home, knowing the bus schedule by heart. Galo had taken a detour to do the grocery shopping. Lio is alone, but entirely happy to be so. Wandering into their spare bedroom, he comes upon a fire-proofed setup. The floor is coated with rubber mats, and the room has no fewer than three fans and two smoke detectors. The walls are covered in various pieces that Galo had hung, wood of varying shades of brown, red, and black. But, in the middle of it, is a set of torches, fuel, and his and Galo’s bed frame. 

Lio picks up a torch, carefully taking the flame to the piece of furniture. He flicks and twists his hand to paint the wood with fire, blowing softly at stray embers. The blonde hums to himself, focused in his work as it grows increasingly intricate with each mark. All he needed was another look, and a few licks of flame here and there, and his work would be complete. 

He sets the torch down- and takes a step back. 

“Hey, you home?” A voice calls to him. 

“I’m in my studio!” Lio calls back. 

Galo opens the door. “You gotta check this out, they have a new flavor of waffle mix and-” He pauses. 

“Look. It’s done.” Lio turns to tell him. 

“Done?” Galo questions back. “You’ve been working on this one for weeks. Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure.” Lio steps to the side, and reveals the piece to him. 

Their bedframe is smattered with black streaks and scratches. But, interstersed in the madness, are little etchings of stars in the wake of all of the encircling chaos. At the base of it, there is a tiny figure, reaching out its hand as the rest of the image seems to leave it. 

“Woah...” Galo breathes. “It’s awesome! But uh... What’s it supposed to be, exactly?” 

Lio shrugs his shoulders. “I guess it’s me.” 

“...That’s a pretty abstract way of looking at yourself.” 

“Look at the person in the corner.” Lio points. “When the Galo De Lion collapsed, I was sent falling back to earth. Everything was black, except for the promare. The fire from every single burnish was there...” He gulps. “And mine came from my hand. I wanted to ask if it was going- but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I knew that it had to leave, as much as it hurt me to let it go. I felt like a falling star.”

“Oooooh.” Galo hums. “I see it now. Doesn’t that make you kind of sore to look at?” 

“Not anymore.” Lio tells him. “I miss the fire every day. But now, I get up in the morning-” He smiles, and turns proudly to the other man. “And there’s something that I want to do! I want to keep getting better at the art that I make, and to tell my story through it. I don’t feel like I’m worthless anymore- I just found what it is that I want to give to the world. Nobody else can do this but me.” 

Galo blinks at him. “You’re right.” He scoops Lio up in a noogie. “You’re you, for better or for worse, and those aliens can’t take any bit of you away! Now c’mon, you told me you’d help me clean the fridge out.” 

Lio pouts, puffing up his cheek. “Just lemme take some pictures-” 

“Nooope, cleaning time. Off we go- Galo De Lion lives again!” Galo picks his partner up, and Lio bursts out into laughter. He’s full. 

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
